There's an unidentified application on my laptop which keeps making a weird noise and its driving me batty.
I have 3 applications open: IE7, Windows Live Messenger and Skype. I know the noises that MLM and Skype make and it isn't any of those and I wasn't aware that IE7 made any noisesbut maybe I'm wrong. I've got antivirus and firewall stuff running, but I wasn't aware they made a noise either.
I would record the sound for you to hear, but as I don't know what action prompts the weird noise I can't because I don't know when it is going to happen. I've done a SpyBot and Ad-aware just in case the weird noise is linked to some background nasty that I've missed; I've checked the firewall to see if anyone is "poking me" and have done a virus scan to be on the safe side.
I still can't work it out, so I'm turning the sound off before I lose my marbles completely.
Right back to the packing ...
Thursday, December 13, 2007
What are the chances of that?
Three weeks ago, before I was unemployed(!), I went to Yeoville for a meeting. It was an "eventful" day, and the icing on the cake was standing at Yeoville Junction station in the pouring rain waiting for a taxi and realising that a) I'd left my best scarf on the train (Christmas present from my ex) and that b) I had lost one of my ear rings. Now, if you have read my blog previously, you will be aware that I own quite a lot of single ear rings and in the main, that's fine because I buy cheap tat! However, these were posh earrings and were my 40th Birthday present from Mum and Dad.
Suffice it to say I was a quite fed up about this. I made enquiries of the train company and the "end of the line" station, but no, they had no scarf or lonely ear ring (which I had assumed had attached itself to my scarf and therefore they would both be together). They did however have a pink umbrella ...?
Yesterday, I was walking back from Staples with some more packing boxes. It was bloomin' cold, the sun was bright and low, and everything was sparkling with frost. It was lovely. What was even more lovely was that I just happened to glance down at the pavement and spotted something that looked familiar. My lost ear ring! Its all a bit squashed but essentially not in too bad shape! What are the chances of that?
Wonder if my scarf has been handed in??
Suffice it to say I was a quite fed up about this. I made enquiries of the train company and the "end of the line" station, but no, they had no scarf or lonely ear ring (which I had assumed had attached itself to my scarf and therefore they would both be together). They did however have a pink umbrella ...?
Yesterday, I was walking back from Staples with some more packing boxes. It was bloomin' cold, the sun was bright and low, and everything was sparkling with frost. It was lovely. What was even more lovely was that I just happened to glance down at the pavement and spotted something that looked familiar. My lost ear ring! Its all a bit squashed but essentially not in too bad shape! What are the chances of that?
Wonder if my scarf has been handed in??
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
*Sigh*
Look at my horoscope for today ...
"In your profession, you'll be able to neutralize the difficulties and obstacles that have obstructed you until now. If you ask for a pay raise, it will be granted to you."
Now that's what I call timing, bearing in mind that I'm no longer employed.
Good job I don't believe in any of this stuff!
:)
"In your profession, you'll be able to neutralize the difficulties and obstacles that have obstructed you until now. If you ask for a pay raise, it will be granted to you."
Now that's what I call timing, bearing in mind that I'm no longer employed.
Good job I don't believe in any of this stuff!
:)
Monday, December 10, 2007
Good Morning ...
I finished work last Friday - yippee! I didn’t get everything done that I wanted to, but I did my best. I had a splendid “do” that evening, and then spent most of the weekend simply vegetating (and getting my home laptop back up and running after the dead hard drive incident), I wasn’t capable of much else to be honest I’m absolutely shattered for some reason. Anyway, I’m looking forward to emptying my head of work and filling it with packing and travel plans etc.
So Monday morning dawns and here I lie, looking forward to luxuriating in a much longed-for extended Monday morning snooze. Enter the “Law of Sod” in the form of a persistent banging (of the DIY kind!) emanating from next door. Oh well, guess I may as well get up and do something useful then …
So Monday morning dawns and here I lie, looking forward to luxuriating in a much longed-for extended Monday morning snooze. Enter the “Law of Sod” in the form of a persistent banging (of the DIY kind!) emanating from next door. Oh well, guess I may as well get up and do something useful then …
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Size matters
Surely it is not beyond the wit of man for clothing manufacturers to define what measurements should be applied to a garment in order for it to be called a particular size and then make the clothes to those measurements. However, it seems that it is.
As I have alluded to in previous posts, I have put on weight of late. I’m happy about this, as I’m aware that I have probably been underweight for the majority of my adult life. However, no matter how much I tried I couldn’t do anything about it, I was just naturally slim. For whatever reason (hitting 40 / getting through a stressful period in my life and finally starting to feel content?), not sure which really, I am now heavier than I’ve ever been. Having accepted that I’m not likely to lose it again I have set about the task of buying new clothes that fit.
How difficult can that be? I mean you go to the shops, pick up a selection of clothes in your size that you like the look of and try them on don’t you? Well I’ve obviously missed something somewhere because in spite of picking up three pairs of jeans, in the same shop, all labelled as the same cut (boot cut in this case), all the same size but just different colours, and different pocket arrangements, the difference between each pair was enormous.
The first pair fitted (apart from gaping at the back, but hey, I’ll just have to wear a top long enough to cover it). The second pair however, just couldn’t be enticed over my hips let alone getting as far as doing up the zip and the button … And the third pair were roomy enough for me to invite a friend to join me in there! I double checked the sizes inside the 2 ill-fitting pairs, just in case they’d been put on the wrong hangers, but no, they both purported to be size 8 regular.
Obviously, I bought the pair that fitted. However, when I got them home and took the labels off I noticed that in spite of them being on a size 8 hanger, the label on the inside said that they were a size 6. What nonsense!
I don’t actually care what size I am, they can label them banana size, orange size, apple size for all I care. I just want to know what the size is and to be able to buy clothes in that size and allowing for differences in style and cut, know that they will fit in an approximate way. Is that too much to ask?
Incidentally, (ever the clothing hoarder), my “going away" suit which I still have and which I bought from the same shop that I just bought my new jeans from 13 years ago when I was nearly 2 stone lighter than I am now, also claim to be size 8.
What’s all that about eh?
As I have alluded to in previous posts, I have put on weight of late. I’m happy about this, as I’m aware that I have probably been underweight for the majority of my adult life. However, no matter how much I tried I couldn’t do anything about it, I was just naturally slim. For whatever reason (hitting 40 / getting through a stressful period in my life and finally starting to feel content?), not sure which really, I am now heavier than I’ve ever been. Having accepted that I’m not likely to lose it again I have set about the task of buying new clothes that fit.
How difficult can that be? I mean you go to the shops, pick up a selection of clothes in your size that you like the look of and try them on don’t you? Well I’ve obviously missed something somewhere because in spite of picking up three pairs of jeans, in the same shop, all labelled as the same cut (boot cut in this case), all the same size but just different colours, and different pocket arrangements, the difference between each pair was enormous.
The first pair fitted (apart from gaping at the back, but hey, I’ll just have to wear a top long enough to cover it). The second pair however, just couldn’t be enticed over my hips let alone getting as far as doing up the zip and the button … And the third pair were roomy enough for me to invite a friend to join me in there! I double checked the sizes inside the 2 ill-fitting pairs, just in case they’d been put on the wrong hangers, but no, they both purported to be size 8 regular.
Obviously, I bought the pair that fitted. However, when I got them home and took the labels off I noticed that in spite of them being on a size 8 hanger, the label on the inside said that they were a size 6. What nonsense!
I don’t actually care what size I am, they can label them banana size, orange size, apple size for all I care. I just want to know what the size is and to be able to buy clothes in that size and allowing for differences in style and cut, know that they will fit in an approximate way. Is that too much to ask?
Incidentally, (ever the clothing hoarder), my “going away" suit which I still have and which I bought from the same shop that I just bought my new jeans from 13 years ago when I was nearly 2 stone lighter than I am now, also claim to be size 8.
What’s all that about eh?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Let the training begin ...
As you may have noticed, I've a got a few things planned for New Zealand next year; not least a 10 day trek down the west coast of New Zealand's south island. I found it on the RealGap website, but then realised that I'm too old ... My Thailand trip is booked via Gap Year for Grownups so I looked for a similar trip there - only for old people like myself ... But no. The grownup version looks great, but it looks a bit too "molly coddled" for my taste, is also twice as expensive as the young person version and the dates don't work.
So I did a bit more research and found the exact same trek (young person's version) being offered by a NZ company who didn't have an age limit. Hurray - maybe I could do it after all!? Before I made my booking I spotted the "health and fitness" link on their website...
What makes the trip great is that it will be proper camping, away from middle aged Japanese tourists, fantastic hiking, fantastic off the main track surroundings etc. However, what has made me reconsider a moment is that fact that the trip involves 3 multi-day hikes which means we'll be carrying everything - tents, food and our own gear. The estimate is a pack weight of 12kg and the longest hiking is 7 hours ... Hmmmmmmm Am I fit enough?
So, I've filled my rucksack with towels and pillows wrapped around my dumbells and I've embarked upon a wee training regime. 3.5km this morning, the rucksack was 14 kg and it took me c. 45mins. Not great, but for a weedy bird I didn't think it was too bad - room to improve but not disastrous! Incidentally, I know how heavy the rucksack is because I bought some weighing scales yesterday for the purpose of checking the pack weight. However, one unpleasant side effect of purchasing scales was seeing my own weight! Oh dear ... Of course, having to buy bigger clothes should have been a bit of a give away, but seeing the reality of it, glowing in all its hideous LCD glory was a bit depressing.
Using the old "calories in, calories out" calculation: I haven't started eating or drinking any more than I used to, and I can't stop taking some medication I'm on (which I think may be contributing somewhat), therefore the only side of the equation that I can do something about is the calories out bit. Fingers crossed it'll work ... I really don't like the insides of my thighs rubbing together and the emergency walking lunges didn't really have much of an effect, so I reckon I'm going to have to be focussed and hopefully reap the benefits all round and am going to give it a couple of weeks before I decide to book the walk or not ...
So I did a bit more research and found the exact same trek (young person's version) being offered by a NZ company who didn't have an age limit. Hurray - maybe I could do it after all!? Before I made my booking I spotted the "health and fitness" link on their website...
What makes the trip great is that it will be proper camping, away from middle aged Japanese tourists, fantastic hiking, fantastic off the main track surroundings etc. However, what has made me reconsider a moment is that fact that the trip involves 3 multi-day hikes which means we'll be carrying everything - tents, food and our own gear. The estimate is a pack weight of 12kg and the longest hiking is 7 hours ... Hmmmmmmm Am I fit enough?
So, I've filled my rucksack with towels and pillows wrapped around my dumbells and I've embarked upon a wee training regime. 3.5km this morning, the rucksack was 14 kg and it took me c. 45mins. Not great, but for a weedy bird I didn't think it was too bad - room to improve but not disastrous! Incidentally, I know how heavy the rucksack is because I bought some weighing scales yesterday for the purpose of checking the pack weight. However, one unpleasant side effect of purchasing scales was seeing my own weight! Oh dear ... Of course, having to buy bigger clothes should have been a bit of a give away, but seeing the reality of it, glowing in all its hideous LCD glory was a bit depressing.
Using the old "calories in, calories out" calculation: I haven't started eating or drinking any more than I used to, and I can't stop taking some medication I'm on (which I think may be contributing somewhat), therefore the only side of the equation that I can do something about is the calories out bit. Fingers crossed it'll work ... I really don't like the insides of my thighs rubbing together and the emergency walking lunges didn't really have much of an effect, so I reckon I'm going to have to be focussed and hopefully reap the benefits all round and am going to give it a couple of weeks before I decide to book the walk or not ...
Sunday, October 21, 2007
New Zealand Ideas
14 days exploring North Island.
To include:
Auckland Caves and glow worms Gloopy mud stuff & hot springs Tandem sky dive over Lake Taupo New Zealand Festival in Wellington Wine tasting in Hawkes Bay Couple of days hiking Chilling on a beach
10 days treking down the West Coast of South Island
Day 1 Nelson / Flora Saddle /Kahurangi National Park – 11km/4 hours hiking Overnighting in an old goldminers’ rock shelter.
Day 2 Wednesday sinkholes and caves /Gordon’s Pyramid / Mount Arthur Buller Gorge – 15km/7 hours hiking
Day 3 Cape Foulwind / New Zealand fur seals / Charleston / hike up a limestone river canyon in Paparoa National Park. During our hike we learn river-crossing techniques, collect firewood along the way and set up camp under the massive Ballroom Overhang. – 12km/6 hours hiking
Day 4 Limestone canyon and caves / Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks)/ Hokitika Ross – 8km/5 hours hiking
Day 5 Franz Josef Glacier /Okarito – 10km/4 hours hiking
Day 6 Okarito – 10km/4 hours kayaking, evening meal cooked in a hangi, an underground Maori earth oven.
Day 7 Copland Valley - Welcome Flat – 18km/7 hours hiking across swing-bridges and mountain streams ending up with a soak in the natural hot pools with vies of 3000m peaks.
Day 8 Welcome Flat – either 8km/4 hours hiking or REST
Day 9 Moeraki – 18km/6 hours hiking
Day 10 Ship Creek / Lake Hawea / ending in Queenstown – 3km/2 hours hiking
To include:
10 days treking down the West Coast of South Island
Day 1 Nelson / Flora Saddle /Kahurangi National Park – 11km/4 hours hiking Overnighting in an old goldminers’ rock shelter.
Day 2 Wednesday sinkholes and caves /Gordon’s Pyramid / Mount Arthur Buller Gorge – 15km/7 hours hiking
Day 3 Cape Foulwind / New Zealand fur seals / Charleston / hike up a limestone river canyon in Paparoa National Park. During our hike we learn river-crossing techniques, collect firewood along the way and set up camp under the massive Ballroom Overhang. – 12km/6 hours hiking
Day 4 Limestone canyon and caves / Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks)/ Hokitika Ross – 8km/5 hours hiking
Day 5 Franz Josef Glacier /Okarito – 10km/4 hours hiking
Day 6 Okarito – 10km/4 hours kayaking, evening meal cooked in a hangi, an underground Maori earth oven.
Day 7 Copland Valley - Welcome Flat – 18km/7 hours hiking across swing-bridges and mountain streams ending up with a soak in the natural hot pools with vies of 3000m peaks.
Day 8 Welcome Flat – either 8km/4 hours hiking or REST
Day 9 Moeraki – 18km/6 hours hiking
Day 10 Ship Creek / Lake Hawea / ending in Queenstown – 3km/2 hours hiking
Friday, October 19, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Very brief update
You know, sometimes there's so much going on, there's too much to tell. So here's a list of the past and the future:
- The house is sold
- I've handed in my notice at work
- I finish work on 7th December - have a good leaving do in the planning
- I then pack, put things into storage and terminate the tenancy on the house
- 17th January: fly to Thailand
- 16th February: fly to New Zealand
- blah March: fly to Australia
- blah April: fly back to UK
More details to follow when I've worked them out - which I'm really looking forward to. For those who know me, the "planning" is almost as exciting as the "doing"! However, I think this one is going to far outshine anything I've ever done before.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Sigh ....
It appears that for the first time in 40 years, the insides of my thighs rub together and I can't say that I enjoy the sensation ...
Emergency walking lunges have been deployed and I'm considering lowering my alcohol in-take.
con·sid·er
1. To think carefully about.
2. To think or deem to be; regard as.
3. To form an opinion about; judge: considers waste to be criminal.
4. To take into account; bear in mind.
5. To show consideration for.
6. To esteem; regard.
7. To look at thoughtfully.
That doesn't mean I actually will ... Just means I'll consider it!
Emergency walking lunges have been deployed and I'm considering lowering my alcohol in-take.
con·sid·er
1. To think carefully about.
2. To think or deem to be; regard as.
3. To form an opinion about; judge: considers waste to be criminal.
4. To take into account; bear in mind.
5. To show consideration for.
6. To esteem; regard.
7. To look at thoughtfully.
That doesn't mean I actually will ... Just means I'll consider it!
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